Wednesday, September 24, 2014

I'm leaving today for a short tour supporting my friend Amos Lee in the South. No, not the South of Japan. No, not South America. The good ol' U.S. South! It's very rare that I get to tour through these parts, so I'm pretty excited! I think it's been about 5 years! As I began to pack up my bags again for the road, I started reminiscing about how I packed for my 2 month trip in Japan.... and there were a lot of things I've realized since then.

LESSONS LEARNED ON HOW TO PACK FOR LIVING 2 MONTHS ABROAD

A.K.A.

"WHAT NOT TO BRING"

For one, I brought way too many "activities" to do for fear of boredom: Every free moment I had, I wanted to go outside, to see friends, to exercise, and yes, to shop! My sewing project, my mini midi keyboard, my recording headphones, my sketchbook and colored pencils all took a back burner on this trip.

Secondly, out of the 30 or so DVDs I brought with me, I only watched "Pom Poko", "The Office - UK version", and "Still Walking". Then guess what I did?

I bought Season 6 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and a few episodes of "Flight of the Conchords" to watch on my iPad. Yes... instead of watching the DVDs I dragged all the way with me to Japan, taking up so much space in my suitcase, I bought TV show episodes and watched those instead. The pattern I noticed is that when far from home, and at the end of a long day, I crave comedy. NOT movies such as "Sophie's Choice" or "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (2 movies I actually brought with me).

Thirdly, I brought way too many books. The only things I read on this trip were "The Dharma Bums", and lifestyle magazines I picked up from Tsutaya or Tower Records. Again... instead of reading what I brought with me, I bought more things to take home.

Fourthly.... I brought way too many Lara Bars with me! As if I thought I'd be stranded for hours with no food and low blood sugar or something! I brought them with me everywhere, but never wanted to eat them ever. I was constantly sampling new snacks and treats left and right. And who needs an energy bar when you can eat onigiri from any convenient store on practically every block?! So I had about 20 of those to take back home with me. :/

I also brought way too many vitamins. Or maybe I just didn't take enough vitamins. I did not buy more vitamins.

Oh, and I brought too many postcards with me in hopes of writing back home. In fact, by "too many", I mean 1 too many, because in reality, I mailed 0 postcards while I was in Japan. And why would I bring my own postcards when I can get fun ones from there?? I approached it all completely wrong.... (I did buy some super cool postcards designed by Yurio Seki!)

For this tour, I'll leave the "projects", survival snacks, and one-too-many books at home, and save some space for more goodies to bring back home.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

I'm doing a mini performance this Wednesday at Desert Nights at The Standard Hotel in Hollywood. The performance will be from 7:15p - 7:45, followed by a screening of the documentary film "Legends of the Canyon", with special guest (and hero/friend) Henry Diltz.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Both of my trips to Tokyo this Summer had me staying at the same hotel, and in the exact the same room! I'd find myself taking a picture of the view from different angles, and different parts of the hotel almost every day. I was in awe at how the sky and the light reflected on the city changed every day and throughout the day.

I'm already looking forward to coming back in December! I'll do a separate post on that!